Indian Point 2 reactor goes back online; pump seal that caused shutdown will be tested

Jan. 20, 2012

The Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan. / Joe Larese/The Journal News

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BUCHANAN — The degraded water pump seal that caused the eight-day shutdown of the Indian Point 2 nuclear power plant will be tested to determine what led to its erosion now that the plant has returned to service.

The plant was brought back online Wednesday night. It was shut down Jan. 10 because of the seal problem.

The repairs, which were overseen by inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, took about as much time as was expected, an NRC spokesman said.

“It’s pretty consistent with what you would expect for a component of this size,” spokesman Neil Sheehan said. “It’s a large industrial pump that requires a high degree of disassembling, repair, and then reassembly.”

Two NRC inspectors observed the shutdown, repairs and restart of Indian Point 2.

“They did not identify any safety concerns,” Sheehan said.

The next step is testing on the seal to find out what caused it to erode, Sheehan said. That testing could be done by an independent laboratory or the manufacturer, Westinghouse.

“We’ll be interested in the outcome of that testing,” Sheehan said.

Before the shutdown, the plant had been running for 230 consecutive days. Its last shutdown was to repair a transformer outside the containment zone. The plant’s other reactor, Indian Point 3, has been operating continuously for 287 days.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for the permanent closure of the plant that supplies 200 megawatts of electricity to New York City and Westchester County. Cuomo has cited the plant’s proximity to the city and the densely populated suburbs of the region in calling for its shuttering. About 20 million people live within a 50-mile radius of the plant.

Nuclear reactors have come under closer scrutiny since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March. On Wednesday, Sen. Charles Schumer said support for nuclear power in Washington had dropped since Fukushima.

The NRC and Entergy have declared Indian Point safe, but opponents have argued against relicensing the plant in 2015 due to shutdowns, leaks of radioactive material, and the plant’s age.

“Every time Indian Point has one of these unplanned shutdowns, it’s a reminder that it’s an old plant, that it hasn’t been run well in the past,” said Phillip Musegaas of the environmental group Riverkeeper, which opposes relicensing the plant for 20 more years of operation. “The plant will just continue to deteriorate.”

The latest shutdown was not unplanned, said Jerry Nappi, an Entergy spokesman. He said water going through the pump had been monitored for a week before deciding maintenance work was needed.

“Unfortunately, maintenance has to occur from time to time on many different components,” he said. “I think most people realize the plant is very well-maintained.”